Would that it were so.
The report states the U.S. economy shed nearly four million manufacturing jobs from 2000 to 2007 and an additional two million manufacturing jobs during the recession that lasted from December 2007 through June 2009.
True, manufacturing has been one of the strongest sectors in this economic recovery. But it is not a huge source of job creation.
Yes, the report notes that 400,000 manufacturing jobs have been added in the last two years. While certainly good news, that does not mean that the trend of America's manufacturing decline that began 50 years ago has been stopped, perhaps just interrupted.
As the Philadelphia region braces for refinery closures and the possibility of job losses in the defense sector, it's difficult to see manufacturing as any significant source of employment growth locally.
Reader soapbox
"Until Philadelphia addresses two persistent issues I could never consider it to be world class: Primary education and the cleanliness of the city."
- John Jones,
of Solebury Township, responding to a recent column on a new effort by the business and nonprofit communities to raise Philadelphia's profile as a "world-class" region.
Earnings
Wednesday: CardioNet, Penn Virginia, Toll Bros.; Thursday: Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Checkpoint Systems, CubeSmart, Hersha Hospitality Trust, ICG Group, InterDigital, Marlin Business Services, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, Public Service Enterprise Group, Radian Group, Teleflex; Friday: American Water Works, Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings.
Contact columnist Mike Armstrong
at 215-854-2980 or marmstrong@phillynews.com, or @PhillyInc on Twitter.
Read his blog, "PhillyInc,"
at www.phillyinc.biz.
